Refrigerator car construction



' June 8, 1943. K. E. ZEIDLER ,3

REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 24, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [II/ ll l/ l 1/ N t INVENTOR.

circulation of air.

Patented June 8, 1943 REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Kurt E. Zeidler,Chicago, 111., assignor to Standard Railway Devices Company, acorporation 7 of Delaware Application April 24, 1941, Serial No. 390,081

8 Claims.

I This invention relates to refrigerator cars used to transportperishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. The essentialfeatures of a refrigerator car are an insulated body to prevent orretard ingress of heat during warm weather and egress of heat duringcold weather, and a cooling means and a heating means to be used duringwarm and cold weather respectively.

This invention applies particularly to cars in which the cooling means,preferably containers for water ice, eutectic ice, brine or dry ice, aredisposed immediately below the roof of the car. The lading is supportedin spaced relation to the floor by a foraminous rack. Flues, preferablyassociated with the side walls of the car, communicate between thecooling means and the space under the floor rack to provide a path forthe The path is from the cooling means downwardly through theaforementioned flues, through the space under the floor rack, upwardlythrough the lading compartment, thereby cooling the lading, and finallyto the cooling means from where the cycle is repeated.

The refrigerant containers often used in a car of this type aresubstantially imperforate tanks in which is loaded the refrigerant whichis usually comprised of ice or a mixture of ice and salt which forms,when the ice melts, water or a brine solution respectively. Overflowholes are usually provided in one or more sides of the container at apredetermined distance above the bottom thereof so that when the brineor other liquid refrigerant reaches the height of the holes suchrefrigerant flows through the holes and passes through a series of ductsin intimate contact with the circulating air, thereby both refrigeratingand humidifying such air. Containers partially or wholly foraminous mayalso be provided in which case a liquid drips from the container as therefrigerant melts. This liquid flows to the lower part of the carthrough the above mentioned side wall fiues and is disposed upon thefloor or in a gutter from where it is drained by suitable means to theexterior of the car.

Doorways are provided through one or both side walls of the car for thepurpose of providing access to the interior thereof and fiues areassociated with the doors and aligned with the above mentioned side wallfiues when the doors are closed for the purpose of conducting air andliquid to the lower part of the car as hereinabove described. Theprovision of a flue associated with the door necessarily leaves anopening for how of air and liquid between the threshold and the floorrack, which opening is a detriment to the car to the interior thereof.

fiow of air to the space under the floor rack and also preferably forthe flow of liquid to the fioor or gutter of the car from which it maybe disposed of.

Another object is to make such auxiliary threshold 'member integral withthe. threshold .of the'car for the purpose of providing a more evensurface and also to impart greater strength to such auxiliary member.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will'be apparent from thefollowing detailed description by referring to the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings: Fig; 1 is a transverse section through a refrigeratorcar embodying my invention, the left side of the figure being a sectionthrough the doorway and the-right side being a section through the sidewall remote from the doorway.

Fig. 2 is a plan section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1

:with a part of the door broken away to more clearly show the thresholdconstruction.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a modified form of auxiliary thresholdmember.

shown in Fig. 1 are insulated roof A; side walls B: floor D; refrigerantcontainers E; hatches F for loading refrigerant into the containers E;side wall flues G; foraminous fioor rack H and space J between the rackH and the floor D. One of the refrigerant containers E is positioneddirectly below the roof A and adjacent a side Wall B. A drip pan K isprovided below the container E and a partition L is disposed in anupstanding position at the edge of the drip pan K. The drip pan K andthe partition L cooperate with the roof A andthe upper part of the sidewall B to form an enclosure M around the container E, an air inletopening N to the enclosure M being provided by spacing the partition Lfrom the roof A. An air discharge opening P leads from the enclosure Mto the flue G at a lower elevation than the air inlet opening N. Cars ofthis type commonly have a row of refrigerant containers E near each sidewall B, which containers are spaced apart at the center of the car. Thepartitions L are also spaced apart to form a duct Q which communicatesbetween the lading compartment R and openings N.

Air circulation is as follows: Air in the lading compartment R, iswarmed by contact with the lading and rises through the duct Q to enterthe enclosing structures M through the air inlet openings N. The air isthen cooled by contact with the cold refrigerant containers E and fallsby reason of its lower temperature and therefore greater density throughthe discharge openings P and flues G to the space J whence it risesthrough the rack H to the lading compartment R. The above describedcycle is thereafter continuously repeated.

In the modification shown, the refrigerant containers E are tanksprovided with apertures 2 in certain walls 3 thereof at a predeterminedheight above the bottoms 5 of he containers for overflow of liquidrefrigerant. Hoods 6 are preferably provided over the apertures 2 toprevent splashing of liquid through the duct Q into the ladingcompartment R. Liquid overflowing through the apertures 2 flows throughthe passages 6 between the containers E and the drip pans K and thendownwardly through the side wall flues G. During flow through thepassages 8 and flues G, the liquid and circulating air are in intimatecontact and the air is thereby further cooled and humidified. Means notshown on the drawing may be provided to drain such liquid from the car.

A doorway is provided in a side wall B of the car, as illustrated at theleft side of Fig. 1. The doorway is defined by spaced apart door postsI4, (see Fig. 2), a header IT and a threshold l8, which threshold ispreferably covered by a slab of relatively hard material, which may beeither metal or a heat insulating composition. A door 2|, which may beof either the swinging or sliding type, is adapted to close the doorwayand has associated therewith a vertically extend ing flue 23 aligned,when the door is closed, with the fixed part 24 of the side wall flue Gabove the doorway. The door flue 23 cooperates with such fixed part 24of the side wall flue G for the purpose of conducting air and liquid tothe lower part of the car, as hereinabove described.

The opening between the threshold l8 and the floor rack H is bridged byan auxiliary threshold member which, in effect, is angle shaped with thevertical leg 3| thereof rigidly secured to the threshold IS. Theauxiliary threshold member 36 preferably has strength enough to supportthe wheels of heavily loaded trucks which carry lading into the car. Themember 30 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart apertures 33 inthe horizontal leg 34 thereof so that air flowing downwardly through thedoor flue 23 may flow through the apertures 33 and into the space Jbelow the floor rack H, from where it may enter the lading compartment Rto cool the lading. Liquid passing downwardly through the door flue 23also passes through the apertures 33 in the auxiliary threshold member36 and is deposited on the floor of the car. Spaced apart verticallydisposed web plates 36 are provided to reinforce the auxiliary thresholdmember 30.

Fig. 3 shows a modified form of auxiliary threshold member 46 in whichthe upper or horizontal leg 41 is concave upwardly in order to insurecomplete drainage thereof and to minimize the danger of liquiddischarged from the door flue 23 splashing under the door lining 43 andinto the lading compartment R.

Fig. 4 shows a modification of the invention wherein the threshold 56 ofthe car comprises the wooden members 5|, 53 encased within a metalsheathing 54. A longitudinally extending gutter 56 is provided depressedbelow the upper surface 51 of the car floor D and disposed adjacent thethreshold 56. The part 51 of the threshold 56 below the door flue 23 isprovided with a plurality of spaced apart holes 59 whose upper ends arealigned with the lower end of the door flue 23 in position to receiveair and liquid discharged from the lower end of the flue 23. The holes59 are inclined downwardly and inwardly so that the lower ends thereofare directly above the gutter 56 and opposite the space J under thefloor rack H, thereby directing air into the space J and liquid into thegutter 56. Means not shown on the drawing may be provided to drain theliquid from the gutter 56.

Fig. 5 shows a threshold construction similar to that shown in Fig. 4,but wherein the holes comprise angularly disposed parts, 66, 68 theupper part 66 being substantially vertical and aligned with the doorflue 23 and the lower part 68 being substantially horizontal anddirected inwardly toward the space under the floor rack H.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6, the car structure is substantiallylike that shown in Fig. 4 but the threshold 12 is comprised of the threewooden members 14, 75, 16. The sheathing 1B which covers the threshold12 is comprised of an inner part 86 and outer part 8| spaced apart toretard heat flow between the exterior and interior of the car. The innerpart 86 of such sheathing has a portion 83 which underlies the door flue23 and is provided with apertures 84 for passage of air and liquid, asdescribed in reference to Fig. 1. An inclined member 86 serves thedouble purpose of reinforcing and supporting the metal sheathing l8 andof directing air into the space J below the floor rack H and liquid intothe gutter 56. Web plates 61 secured to both the sheathing 18 and theinclined member 86 are providing for reinforcing purposes.

The floor rack 90 shown in Figs. 4 and 6 consists of a plurality oflongitudinally extending spaced apart slats 61 supported by transverselyextending metallic straps 93 formed with alternating upper (35) andlower (96) portions.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of theinvention, though it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as itis obvious that various modification thereof, within the scope of theclaims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In combination with the roof, floor and a wall of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means near the roof, a doorway through said wall definedin part by a threshold and a door adapted to close said doorway andincluding a' flue arranged to conduct cold air and liquid from saidmeans to the lower part of the car, said threshold being substantiallyas wide as the combined thickness of said door and flue and including apart below said flue provided with apertures for passage of said air andliquid.

2. In combination with the roof, floor and a wall of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means near the roof, a foraminous rack for supporting thelading arranged to form a space between the floor and the lading, adoorway through said wall defined in part by a threshold and a dooradapted to close said doorway and including a flue arranged to conductcold air from said means to the lower part of the car, said thresholdbeing at least as wide as the combined thickness of said door and flueand having its inner edge disposed adjacent an edge of and substantiallyflush with said rack for hauling lading into said car, said thresholdincluding a part below said flue provided with apertures for passage ofsaid air into said space.

3. In combination with the roof, floor and a wall of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means near the roof, a foraminous rack for supporting thelading arranged to form a space between the floor and the lading, adoorway through said wall defined in part by a thresholdand a dooradapted to close said doorway and including a flue arranged to conductcold air and liquid from said means to the lower part of the car, saidthreshold being at least as wide as the combined thickness of said doorand flue and having its inner edge disposed adjacent an edge of saidrack for hauling lading into said car, said thresh-' old including apart below said flue provided with apertures for passage of said air andliquid.

4. In combination with the roof, floor and a wall of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means near the roof, a foraminous rack for supporting thelading arranged to form a space between the floor and the lading, adoorway through said wall defined in part by a threshold and a dooradapted to close said doorway and including a flue arranged to conductcold air from said means to the lower part of the car, said thresholdbeing at least as wide as the combined thickness of said door and flueand including a part below said flue provided with apertures for passageof said air, and means below said part for directing said air into saidspace.

5. In combination with the roof, floor and a wall of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means near the roof, a foraminous rack for supporting thelading arranged to form a space between the floor and the lading, adoorway through said wall defined in part by a threshold, a door adaptedto close said doorway and including a flue arranged to conduct cold airand liquid from said means to the lower part of the car, a gutterassociated with said floor vertically unaligned with said flue, saidthreshold being substantially as wide as the combined thickness of saiddoor and flue and including a part below said flue provided withapertures for passage of said air and liquid, and means below said partfor, directing said air into said space and said liquid into saidgutter.

6. In combination with the roof, floor and a wall of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means near the roof, a foraminous rack for supporting thelading arranged to form a space between the floor and the lading, adoorway through said wall defined in part by a threshold, a door adaptedto close said doorway and including a flue arranged to conduct cold airand liquid from said means to the lower part of the car, a gutterassociated with said floor vertically unaligned with said flue, saidthreshold being at least as wide as the combined thickness of said doorand flue and including a part below said flue provided with aperturesfor passage of said air and liquid, and means comprising an inclinedmember below said part for directing said air into said space and saidliquid into said gutter.

7 In combination with the roof, floor and a wall of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means near the roof, a foraminous rack for supporting thelading arranged to form a space between the floor and the lading, adoorway through said wall defined in part by a threshold, a door adaptedto close said doorway, and a flue associated with said door and arrangedto conduct cold air from said refrigerating means, a portion of saidthreshold being positioned below said flue and provided with'means todirect said air downwardly through said threshold from the flue to saidspace.

8. In combination with the roof, floor and a wall of a refrigerator car,refrigerating means near the roof, a foraminous rack for supporting thelading arranged to form a space between the floor and the lading, adoorway through said wall defined in part by a threshold, a door adaptedto close said doorway, a flue associated with said door and arranged toconduct cold air and liquid from said refrigerating means, and a gutterassociated with said floor, a portion of said threshold being positionedbelow said flue and provided with means to direct said air through saidthreshold from the flue to the lower part of the car and to direct saidliquid from said flue to said gutter.

KURT E. ZEIDLER.

